


Just the fifth wheel

by Anzuss



Category: Moominvalley (Cartoon 2019), Mumintroll | Moomins Series - Tove Jansson, 楽しいムーミン一家 | Moomin (Anime 1990)
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Self-Esteem Issues, Sniff deserves love, implied Snufmin - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-11
Updated: 2021-03-11
Packaged: 2021-03-18 18:40:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29987142
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anzuss/pseuds/Anzuss
Summary: After finding out by mistake that Snufkin and Moomintroll were dating, Sniff questions his place on his group of friends.
Relationships: Sniff (Mumintroll) & Everyone
Comments: 9
Kudos: 11





	Just the fifth wheel

-”Are you coming too, Sniff?”

Sniff´s ears perked up when he heard someone address him, raising his face to find everyone at the table staring at him. It was uncommon for him to be the center of attention, that role was meant for charming people with good social skills like Snorkmaiden or Moomintroll, and although he didn't dislike attention, being unaware of the reason made him extremely uncomfortable, the weight of the stares pushing him to shrink on his seat. 

He went silent, trying to remember what they were talking about, but gave up as he couldn't recall a thing. -"Sorry. What were you asking?" 

\- ”I said, are you coming mushroom picking with us?”- Little My repeated, emphasizing every word - "Seriously Sniff, those massive ears serve you nothing if you can't hear what I say". 

The insult was meant to be playful, but he touched his ears, self-conscious. He tried to read the expressions of his friends to reply the way they were expecting him to, but that served an impossible task for someone like him, who was terrible at reading people. 

-”I'm feeling sick, I will only slow you down”.- his voice came rushed and incomprehensible while he stood up, hitting his ankle with the chair and yelping. -”I better go home, see you later” - he exclaimed, closing the front door behind him. 

He sprinted out of the house, giving little notice to the puzzled looks on his friends, who were seeing him through the window, limping through the path leading to the forest. 

As soon as he saw his tiny house, built underground from rocks and sturdy wood to avoid it being carried away by the floods like it had happened to his previous house, he ignored the pain on his leg and rushed to get inside. Locking his door he sat on the floor, looking at his ankle. 

He almost fainted seeing the graze, always being far too sensible to injuries no matter how small they were. His eyes turned glassy and his ears flattened at the sight of the tiny blood drops, shining like red berries on his brown fur. 

_It shouldn't hurt this much, it´s just a scrape-_ he told himself, but he knew that the graze wasn´t half the reason why he felt like crying.

It all started a few hours ago, while they were playing hide and seek in the forest. He was looking for a place to hide when he saw them: Moomin was raising his head in a weird angle with his paws on Snufkin's waist, who was under his snout, grasping Moomin's face with both hands. 

Sniff stood there for some seconds, confused. -”What are they doing?”- he asked, to no one in particular. 

-"Those disgusting mutts" - Little my mumbled, getting out of her hiding spot in a nearby bush. She cupped her hands around her mouth, shouting with irritation -"We said no kissing during playtime!" 

Moomin jumped at the shout, his fur turning crimson. Snufkin put on his hat, which was lying on the floor, trying to hide his face, but even from far everyone could see how red his cheeks were. 

Dumbstruck, Sniff squealed -”What!? But only couples do that!”. 

Snorkmaiden showed behind him, laughing as if he had just told the best joke she had ever heard -"Well, of course. They are dating, silly". 

-"Oh, uhm" - Moomintroll approached his friends, awkwardly rubbing his neck - "I thought you already knew". 

Sniff looked at him with confusion -"You never told me". 

-"Well, everyone seemed to know even before I told them, so I guess I saw no need?" 

And just like that, everyone returned to their playful mood, eagerly discussing if it was Moomin's or Snufkin's turn to count, being that both were found at the same time. 

They didn't notice, but Sniff went quiet after that, excusing himself to take a break and opting for seeing his friends run around the next hours. And when they returned to Moominhouse, he still didn't speak a word, just sitting on the table, drinking cup after cup of juice and laughing along whenever he heard them laugh, while his mind slipped away. 

_Everyone knew, except for me._

He hugged his legs, the coldness of the ground piercing through his fur. He knew that Moomintroll had no reason to lie about assuming he already knew, but he couldn't help feeling upset. Why was it that he never noticed things like such happening around him, if it was crystal clear for the rest? Maybe he was much more stupid than he thought he was, that was the only way to explain why everyone, except for him, seemed to know all about each other's business. 

Or maybe they thought it wasn't important to tell him, after all it wouldn't be the first time they shared something without his knowledge. He had found his friends laughing at inside jokes before, and after many tries asking for an explanation and receiving replies like "long story", "you weren't there anyway" or "it doesn't matter" he had given up on trying to understand them, only smiling uncomfortably while they cackled. And the more they grew up the more he saw this happening, trivial talks in the meadows slowly turning into shushed chatting, knowing glances and shared secrets. 

_Snufkin and Moomintroll are best friends. Moomintroll and Snorkmaiden are a former couple. Snorkmaiden and Little My are both girls. Little My and Snufkin are siblings._

All of them had a reason to trust their secrets to the other, it wasn't difficult to see why they were close. But where did that leave him? His lips trembled with the realization that he had no bond to any of his friends, not one that could make him special or close to them. 

_Third best friend_ \- he chuckled, remembering what Moomintroll told him when he was about to leave with Little My many months ago. At that moment it hurt because it was unexpected, but now that he could dig deeper into its meaning, the words made his chest ache with dejection. If even the one friend he had known for the longest time, the one he considered his best friend, corrected him about his position on his life, he was in big trouble. 

He looked around his cramped room: small rocks, shiny sea glasses, jars filled with cents. He loved his treasure (as he liked to call his collection), it made the cave feel less empty and it brought him comfort when he felt frightened of the dark. But the more he stared at his treasure, the more he saw how worthless everything was, and how lonely his house felt even with all the things stuffing his walls and floor. No emotional value, everything he gathered was just shallow beauty. 

He always thought that if he possessed valuable things, then maybe people would be interested in him, and that's why he was always eager to find money and treasures. His friends have called him out for this before, calling him materialistic and selfish whenever he risked them to get something valuable. Snufkin was always the hardest, his lack of interest in material things clashing with Sniff´s nature; he never used strong language, but Sniff could see his disapproving face, and that enough hurt him more than all the insults Little My could splutter. 

"Who am I trying to fool. Even if I had the King's ruby hanging on my neck it wouldn't make me important"- He bitterly muttered. He was sure of this, he knew himself. He was full of flaws that made him someone hard to get along with, someone who many people disliked the very moment they met. He was sure his defects were too noticeable to conceal, shining brighter than any jewel he could ever possess. 

He was the tallest if one were to compare heights, but his back was always hunted, like trying to make himself look as small as he could to avoid people seeing his many flaws. At the rate he was shrinking he was sure that one day, someone might step over him, unaware of his presence. He got used to calling himself a small beast to remember that he was, in fact, small and helpless

He was a coward, such a coward that his friends had stopped inviting him to adventures, tired of him refusing to join whenever it involved a little danger or thrill. He knew it was his fault, after many rejections anyone, no matter how patient, would grow tired of his cowardice, but it made him sad that they had come to the conclusion that he would never like to join them. 

_"_ Even if I don't join them, it would be nice to be invited from time to time" _._

His whimpers echoed in the lonely room, making him wish he had stayed in Moominhouse to ask Moominmamma for a hug. He covered his face with his paws, because even if he knew he was alone, he was ashamed of how piteous he was acting. 

“I wish I was smarter, or braver, or anything at all. They are better off without me, they have much more interesting friends”. 

He straightened his back when he heard someone loudly knock on the door. He stood motionless, pondering if it was a good idea to open the door or if he should make whoever was on the other side believe that there was no one home. 

-"Hey Sniff! You better hurry up and open the door or I will get hungry and eat these pancakes".- shouted Little My from the other side of the door. 

He opened the door when he heard the word pancakes, silently thanking his inability to cry, else he was sure his eyes would be puffy and red. He knew better than to let the food go when he was hungry.

-“Finally, I was beginning to believe you had starved to death” -Little My joked, frowning when she saw his face - “Why the puppy face?” 

The group entered his house, with questioning expressions. Moomintroll stood behind Little My, carrying a basket -"We brought you food. Mamma made a ton of your favorite pancakes when we told her you were feeling sick". 

-”I saw you hit your ankle with the chair, can I get a look at it?- Snorkmaiden asked with a sweet tone. Sniff nodded and sat on his bed to bend his leg, so she could examine the wound.- “Goodness, that´s a pretty awful graze”- she said, opening the first aid kit and dampening a tissue with tap water -“Tell me if it hurts”.

Everyone stood in silence, watching Snorkmaiden clean the wound. Moomintroll looked around, griping the basket- “Your collection has grown a lot since I last came here, that´s wonderful!”.

-”Yes, I´ve had a lot of free time”.

Moomintroll raised his ears, looking at a piece of paper framed in a corner -“Is that the drawing I gifted you ages ago?”

Sniff looked in the same direction- “Oh yes, it´s one of my favorites”.

Moomintroll laughed, blushing - ”There was no need to save it, it´s an awful drawing”.

-“I like it a lot, no one had ever drawn me before”.

\- “I should make you a new one, I have improved a lot”- Moomin beamed at him, making Sniff smile too.

“Finished!”- Snorkmaiden exclaimed, letting him see his now clean and covered ankle. 

Sniff laughed at the cute flower patterns on the band-aids. -”Thank you”.

-“Here, eat them before they get cold”- Little My spoke, passing him a plate full of pancakes.

Sniff took them, smelling the sweet batter- “I don´t think I will be able to finish them, do you want some?”

Everyone agreed, taking one pancake in their paws, but they stood awkwardly looking around for somewhere to sit.

-“Oh, yes, sorry for the lack of space”

Snufkin, who hadn´t spoken a word, pointed with his thumb to outside - “There is a nice meadow close here, we can sit there to eat them”.

-”Great idea! let´s make it a picnic”- Snorkmaiden exclaimed, clasping her hands together.

Everyone exited the house, making small talk about what they could do on their picnic day. Moomintroll stopped while the rest kept walking, looking back to Sniff, who was walking a meter behind. 

-”Do you need help?” -he asked, pointing Sniff´s leg

Sniff contemplated the question and shook his head. -”No, I´ll manage”- he answered, quickening his pace to walk by their side.

**Author's Note:**

> First of all, I wrote this mostly for catharsis and I don´t expect a lot of people to read it, so I will allow myself to be a little more personal.
> 
> Sniff is a character I cherish a lot, even if he is one of the least popular (and even one of the most disliked) characters. I feel that he represents me, my fears, and limitations in a way that makes me empathize with him a lot whenever he struggles, so giving him a nice ending is, in some way, to give me a little comfort.  
> I understand the pain of being the friend left aside, the “third wheel”, ignored because your life isn´t as intriguing as the other´s life, or because you have a hard time understanding simple relationship dynamics. I also understand the need to focus all your attention on things like collecting stuff, eating, or getting multiple hobbies to distract yourself and feel useful and interesting. There are so many things I like about his character, but I will stop at this, else I will start rambling and bore you to death.
> 
> I have been feeling way too self-aware of my writing. Right now I am trying my hardest to resist the urge to delete my works, and my mental health is only making everything look much worse than it might be, so this was a positive way to keep me at a good pace. I know I am being way too harsh on myself, but I feel like I could have done much better, and that upsets me whenever I reread my previous fanfics and find mistakes.
> 
> I hope you liked it, and if you are struggling with something please know my dm is always open <3  
> Please reassure your friends, you don´t know what they might be going through. Sometimes you might think your actions reflect how much you appreciate them, but it´s important to hear it in words from time to time.


End file.
